A Prop 12 Pork Price Assessment
With California Ag Today on the Ag Information Network, I am Haylie Shipp.
Now fully implemented, monetary assessments are coming in as to pork prices and Proposition 12 here in the state of California. To back up the data before I start spewing numbers, this information has been compiled by the USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist or the OCE. Now to dispense…
The OCE found prices for pork products affected by Prop 12, including loins, ribs, and bellies, have averaged 20 percent higher in California since before July 1, 2023, when the initiative was partially implemented. Loin prices averaged 41 percent higher than before Prop 12 implementation. They report that pork not covered by the initiative hasn’t significantly increased.
The data also shows that California’s share of fresh pork consumption has “significantly declined.”
The battle over Proposition 12 made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where the high court upheld the California ballot initiative as constitutional stating that the state could establish its own rules on meat sold in the state. Specific to the pork industry, it included mandates as to housing requirements.
